Air travel has becoming increasingly popular over the past decade and has evolved to handle an ever growing passenger volume. An important aspect of this evolution is the structure of flight routes through a “hub” airport. Today, hub routing has become an essential part of the efficient operation of an airline. Another marketing scheme includes the concept of maximizing nonstop flights for passenger convenience.
These trends have been influenced by the advent of regional aircraft. As the trends have continued, significant interest has been taken in smaller aircraft as commercial carriers, albeit perhaps as charter carriers.
The advent of regional aircraft has created a new market for air travel in which air passengers can span relatively large distances quickly on a regional aircraft.